NASA astronaut and ISS commander Peggy Whitson does it again by breaking another world record. President Donald Trump, his daughter Ivanka and astronaut Kate Rubins will call Whitson from the Oval Office on Monday to congratulate her.
By early Monday morning, Whitson officially set the US record for the most cumulative days in space. NASA records showed that she surpassed astronaut Jeff Williams' record of 534 days.
CNN reported Whitson arrived at the ISS for her current mission on Novermber 19, 2016 and is set to return to Earth in September. She recently broke a record for the most spacewalks by a female astronaut during her eighth spacewalk in March. The Commander makes history with the new record and by the time she lands in September she would have stayed for 666 days in space with more spacewalks than any other female astronauts.
She also happens to be the first woman to command the International Space Station. She became commander in April 2008 and right now is commanding the current crew for the second time.
Whitson said it's all about the mission and that she wasn't there because of the record. But she believes that having the record is also important because she wants to continue progress and continue to take the next steps. Whitson said that while in space her favorite thing is simply seeing the Earth from the North Africa's reds to the Caribbean blues, 6 ABC News reported.
The commander earned her PhD in biochem and landed a job with NASA. It took her ten years to prove to NASA that she had the right stuff to become an astronaut. Due to her perseverance, she has come a long way and is still continues to live her dream.
Whitson's 20-minute call with President Donald Trump was aired live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website and Facebook page at 10 a.m. ET.
